THE RISE AND FALL OF VALVERDE COLLIES

By Gayle Kaye

Valverde Kennels located in the Napa Valley - circa 1906

One of the most captivating stories in the Collie’s rich and colorful history, is the rise and fall of Valverde Collies.  In a few short years William “Colonel” Ellery managed to assemble one of the greatest collections of Collies ever seen in this country. There’s no doubt that had it not been for an unexpected twist of fate, he and his dogs would have contributed significantly to the Collie gene pool.

By the beginning of 1909 Ellery was riding high with one of the finest collections of Collie champions in the world. By the end of that year, he and his dogs were all suspended by the American Kennel Club. It is a story of power, wealth, greed, and vengeance. Few people at the time knew the entire story and for the most part, many details remain a mystery to this day. As the story unfolded, one thing was clear: someone wanted Ellery out of dogs and went to great lengths to make sure it happened!

An avid Collie fan from way back, Ellery was always impressed by the breed’s wonderful intelligence, loyalty and usefulness. His desire to breed good Collies began in 1903 with the purchase of ‘Prince’, a sable male of obscure breeding. When Prince was exhibited several times and didn’t win, Ellery realized dog shows couldn’t be won with a below average pet. In that era, the center of Collie activity was in the East and Midwest and there weren’t Collie kennels of any importance, west of the Mississippi River. Ellery wanted to change that by establishing a breeding kennel with the finest Collies he could afford. While the kennel was established as a hobby, his goal was to breed winners equal to or better than the English dogs that Americans had been spending thousands of dollars to import. He also wanted the term “California-bred” to really mean something.

A STRONG FOUNDATION

Since even in those days, property was at a premium in a city surrounded by water on three sides, the Valverde kennels were built 40 miles away from San Francisco, in the town of Yountville, California in the beautiful Napa Valley. As Ellery’s greatest desire was to raise dogs as naturally as possible, the kennels were situated on several acres of rolling green hills, with large fenced-in runs, each containing spacious individual doghouses. As Ellery spared no expense, the kennels had every known convenience and comfort. In its heyday, as many as 80 dogs were known to occupy the kennels. Three kennel men were employed and lived in a large house attached to the kennel. The chief kennel manager, Chris Shuttleworth, was a Collie fancier from England, who later went on to an impressive career as an all-breed handler and judge. 

Once the kennel was established, Ellery began making contacts to purchase his foundation stock. Like most breeders of the day, he turned to England. Fortunately he had all the right contacts and was guided by some of the best names in Collies!  Ellery’s main contact was W.E. Mason of Southport Collies in England. For more than twenty years Mason had been a pillar of the breed and had an unlimited supply of quality Collies passing through his kennels. Not only did he and Ellery hit it off immediately, but their friendship lasted for years, surviving the best and worst of times.

In 1905 Ellery began his kennel with two major importations, Ch. Southport Philosopher and Ch. Southport Sphinx. Both finished their American championships and totally dominated the Western show scene. In 1907 two well-known English champions were added to the kennel. One was Ch. Wishaw Leader, a big winner in England, as well as a leading sire. However, the “tour de force” came with the importation of Eng. Ch. Anfield Model. Not only was Model considered the epitome of Collie perfection in head, eye and expression, but he was also the premier sire of the day. Indeed, he is one of the pillars of the breed and remained a prominent tail male sire until well into the late 1920’s. Every Collie alive today traces multiples to Model. He became the centerpiece of Ellery’s kennel.

In 1908 Ellery imported three English dogs that had a combined worth of $13,000. They included the sable male, Ch. Southport Student, valued at $10,000; the beautiful sable bitch, Eng. Ch. (Valverde) Ballyarnet Faultless valued at $2,500 and one of the best blue males bred up to that time, Southport Skyblue. All three arrived in New York just in time for the 32nd annual Westminster dog show, where they took several top awards (Faultless was Winners Bitch). Ten days later at the Collie Club of America National Specialty, the Valverde dogs were not only the star attraction but again won most of the top honors (Ch. Southport Student was Winners Dog and Valverde Faultless was Winners Bitch). From the judge of the National specialty 1908, judge John Black: “Interest seemed to center in the awarding of the special for the Best Collie Champion, Southport Student and Valverde Fautless competing (note: no Best of Breed in those days - Best Collie was chosen from Winners Dog and Winners Bitch). I awarded the Special to the bitch feeling satisfied she won it comfortably. The verdict evidently met with general approval and during the applause following, the bitch on a loose lead presented a picture not soon to be forgotten – on the “qui vive”, with ears drawn up tight and with perfect poise.” NOTE: I have often wondered why Valverde Faultless never finished her championship following the wins at two major events. I can find no reason other than she must have been caught up in the middle of the Ellery suspension a year later. To this now famous collection, Ellery added two additional champion bitches, Princess of Tytton and Xanteppe of Moreton.

In 1909, one of England’s top winning bitches, Eng. Ch. (Valverde) Seedley Sapphire, made her way to Napa Valley. She arrived in New York right before the 33rd annual Westminster show where she debuted by going Winners Bitch. This year the National Specialty was held in conjunction with the Westminster show. By May of 1909, Ellery had assembled a collection of 11 champion dogs and bitches of American, English and International fame. This included two homebred champions, Valverde Veto and Valverde Venus. Within four years, his kennel had ascended to the top with the largest collection of champion dogs and bitches anywhere in the world. Even by today’s standards, this would be a major accomplishment.

Ellery had everything going for him, including the tremendous admiration and respect of his peers. He was known to be congenial and forthright. Mason wrote in The Collie Folio magazine…… “your integrity, methods of business and whole hearted desire for clean sport, are thoroughly recognized by all who have had the privilege of meeting you.” Over and over the same phrases were used to describe Ellery...honest, reliable and sportsmanlike. So where did things go wrong?

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

It all started innocently enough in February 1909 when one of the kennel men, George Cranfield, was fired for drinking on the job. Because Ellery was a busy man, he gave the incident little notice. In addition to all his business interests, he had recently been elected President of the San Francisco Kennel Club and that organization was preparing for its 12th all-breed dog show in May 1909. Ellery entered 16 dogs in the show and as usual, his dogs won all the top awards. In a very large entry, Ch. Southport Student won Best Dog in Show, while a homebred Valverde Virginius went Winners Dog for 5 points and Valverde Sapphire won Winners Bitch. Ellery was especially proud of Virginius’ win, as he was the first generation resulting from the breeding of two of his famous imports. Attending the show was the fired kennel man, George Cranfield. Still smarting from his recent dismissal, he circulated the show, complaining loudly that Ellery had entered several puppies with the wrong birth dates. His criticism was mainly directed at the Winners Dog, Virginius. Although it never became clear what role Cranfield played in the affair, on the last day of the four-day show, he was brutally assaulted by a man named Sid Cummins. Cranfield filed bench show charges, but didn’t show up for the proceedings, and as a result, the committee took no action and the incident was dismissed.

Because San Francisco was such a long distance from the center of activities in New York, the AKC appointed a Pacific Advisory Committee (PAC) to handle all Western affairs. This committee was known to have sympathies with the anti-Ellery forces.

RIVAL FACTIONS

Considering Ellery’s complete dominance of the Western dog show scene, it was no surprise that he became the object of intense scrutiny and jealousy. During that time in San Francisco dog circles, there were two rival factions. There was Ellery and the San Francisco Kennel Club, the dominant force in the City. On the other side were the anti-Ellery forces. For several years the latter had been attempting to establish another kennel club in the city, but had been unsuccessful. Hostilities were further compounded by the fact that there were two San Francisco-based dog magazines — “The Kennel”, backed financially by Ellery and “Western Kennel World”, supported by his rivals. The editor of Western Kennel World had become a very vocal critic of anything Ellery said or did.

When a scathing story bearing the headline “Ellery’s Prize Puppy May Be Disqualified” broke in a San Francisco newspaper a week after the show, few people were surprised. The story relied on information and quotes by none other than the editor of Western Kennel World and Ellery’s fired employee, George Cranfield! This newspaper exposé was the culmination of the bitter fight between the two rival factions. Not only did the newspaper writer give credibility to Cranfield’s charges, but he attacked Ellery with a vengeance.  While it was true that Virginius had been entered with the birth date of September 14, 1908, instead of the correct one of July 23, 1908, the newspaper blew the entire affair out of proportion. Not only did it suggest that several grave offenses had occurred, but it also hinted that the judge based the award totally on age instead of quality. In those days there was one puppy class for all puppies 6 months to a year. Not once did the writer mention that even if Ellery had used the correct birthdate for Virginius, he still would have been in the same puppy class!

THE BATTLE INTENSIFIES

W.E. Mason took up Ellery’s cause right from the start in the pages of The Collie Folio magazine. Since Ellery had previously placed ads featuring Virginius and his littermates in The Folio, Mason noted “in face of the facts, no one but an absolute fool would deliberately falsify such particulars in entering the dogs for a show.” Not only did Mason feel Ellery was an honorable individual, but they had become very good friends. In fact plans were underway in mid-1909 to set up a combination kennel, with stock from both Southport and Valverde, to be situated in Ridgewood, New Jersey; a venture that ultimately was short-lived.

With his back to the wall, Ellery finally decided to present his side of the situation. His well-written response appeared in “The Kennel”, and “The Collie Folio”. He pointed out that the printer had in fact made several clerical errors in the catalog. He explained that in addition to the incorrect birth date for Valverde Virginius, other errors had also been made on the sires of several puppies. He concluded his statement with the fact that no one made protest on the day of the show. Ironically, if anyone had filed a protest, a fine of $1.00 could have been levied and the matter would have been dropped. Ellery’s statement brought a flood of overwhelming support from the Collie people.

Thanks to the relentless campaigning by the editor of Western Kennel World and the onslaught in the newspapers, three months after the show, the PAC decided to open an investigation. At that point, they wrote the San Francisco Kennel Club requesting copies of all the entries for the May show. Unfortunately, following the show, the SFKC had moved its offices. Because everything had been assumed okay, following the earlier inquiry by the PAC and results had already been published in the Gazette, all entries had been destroyed. At that time, there was no AKC rule stating that the entry blanks had to be kept for any length of time. Ellery notified the PAC of the destruction of the entries.

On September 20, 1909, four months after the show, the PAC notified Ellery by letter that he was to be tried twelve days hence for misconduct. The letter specifically addressed the catalog errors and also mentioned that the San Francisco Kennel Club would be on trial, as well. However, the letter did not give a time or place for the hearing and it was not signed. Ironically, even to that day, no protest had been filed by any of the other exhibitors. Again, if they had done so in a timely manner, Ellery would have been fined, but not disqualified. Additionally, the stakes had been raised when AKC mentioned “misconduct”, a more serious charge than an error on an entry form. Ellery sent a registered letter to the PAC requesting notification of the time and place of the hearing. When he did not receive a response, the day before the hearing was to take place, he went to the San Francisco Superior Court and filed an injunction against the PAC. In a statement issued to the San Francisco newspapers, he accused the PAC of “star-chamber” tactics: “I charge bias on the part of the members of the advisory committee and I deny their right to try me without giving me an opportunity to be heard!”  Meanwhile the AKC, ignoring the Court’s injunction altogether, ruled at an impromptu meeting held in San Francisco that “charges of conduct prejudicial to dog shows” be preferred against Ellery. They ordered him to reply within 14 days and produce his kennel records. The San Francisco Kennel Club was also charged with misconduct.

AN IMPASSE

The AKC admitted that because of an oversight, the PAC did indeed fail to inform Ellery of the time and place of the meeting in their letter of Sept. 20. On December 21, 1909 AKC offered to withdraw Ellery’s suspension if he would dismiss the injunction lawsuit; pay the PAC’s expenses incurred; and if he would submit himself and his club to the jurisdiction of the PAC. Furthermore, the AKC directed the PAC to appoint a time and place for a hearing. Not only did Ellery decline the offer, but in January 1910, he filed a supplemental complaint in San Francisco courts charging that the PAC had violated the injunction of the Superior Court by sending an official communication to AKC headquarters, the result of which was that AKC President August Belmont wrote a letter suspending Ellery and the San Francisco Kennel Club from participation in any shows until the charges had been investigated and cleared up.  

William Ellery continued to refuse to have anything to do with the PAC. On numerous occasions he attempted to have his case heard directly at AKC Headquarters in New York City, thereby by sidestepping any involvement with the local PAC. He volunteered to make the long trip to New York, with his kennel records, at his own expense, but AKC ignored that request.   

Basically the situation stayed that way for many months, in fact years. In 1911, another PAC offer was made that if Ellery would pay half the PAC’s legal fees, amounting to $250.00 and submit his case to be heard by the PAC, all charges would be dropped. Once again Ellery refused to submit to the proposed terms; he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance if judged by the local authorities. He continued to appeal directly to the AKC in New York and they continued to ignore his requests.

Ironically, the rival faction did in fact win their bid to hold an AKC dog show the very next year and thus was born the Golden Gate Kennel Club, which reigns in San Francisco to this day. It is interesting that throughout the entire investigation the Collie Club of America never came to Ellery’s defense nor did it offer help in settling the dispute, even though many club members felt the investigation and resulting suspension was a “travesty of justice”. Many felt the entire breed suffered, as a result of Ellery’s suspension. Others felt the club was the big loser due to the withdrawal of its “brightest ornament”. For whatever reasons, the club chose to not get involved.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

The question remains even to this day: did Ellery purposely lie on the entry forms? Although it’s impossible to speculate on his actions or motives, it’s highly unlikely the errors were made with malicious intent. He had everything to lose and nothing to gain. Because of the royal parentage of both litters involved, there had been a lot of interest amongst Collie fanciers. The particulars of the litters had been announced and were well documented in magazines of the day. Not only had Ellery corresponded with various breeders regarding the litters, but also many visitors to the kennels had actually seen the puppies. In all likelihood, the errors were either typos or errors hastily made when filling out 16 entry forms. It’s also possible that Ellery did not make the entries himself, but instead delegated that duty to the kennel help. Being a busy man in San Francisco and having 80 dogs to keep track of 40 miles away, could leave room for mistakes. Years later when Ellery was having all of his personal and legal problems, the San Francisco newspapers continued to erroneously report that he had been suspended for falsifying his dogs’ pedigrees. In truth, he never violated the sanctity of the American Kennel Club Studbook. These weren’t errors in the AKC registration of his dogs, but simply catalog errors made at one individual dog show!

For several years following the turmoil, Ellery attempted to rally the discontented dog fanciers on the West Coast. They began the National Dog Breeders Association and did manage to hold several well-attended dog shows, but any success was short-lived, as AKC remained the viable force. Ellery maintained the kennels in Napa Valley and continued breeding for several years. Suspended or not, his dogs were still in great demand.

By 1915, Ellery was finally losing interest in the breeding and exhibiting of his dogs. His brother George, who was involved in the SF Kennel Club and shared Ellery’s enthusiasm for showing dogs (Cockers), had recently died. The Breeders Association had failed in spite of Ellery’s tremendous financial backing. The AKC had been quick to retaliate against anyone that showed dogs under the Breeders Association’s rules, so it quickly fell out of favor. At Ellery’s last public showing in 1916, at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition Dog Show, his kennel won the premier award offered for “Best Kennel”, but by that time he was disheartened and was tired of explaining the old story over and over. He admitted at the Exposition, that not only had he cut back on his kennel stock, but had ceased breeding altogether.

Most Collie people continued to feel that Ellery had been railroaded and that because of his suspension, the breed had suffered immeasurably. At the time the overall quality of the West Coast Collies left much to be desired and many breeders felt the missing links were the dogs at Valverde. Western breeders felt they had been robbed of the opportunity to use some of the finest dogs ever produced in the breed. In reality all those quality dogs were lost not only to the local fanciers but to all of Colliedom as well.

In late 1916, several West Coast Collie clubs and fanciers petitioned the AKC, asking for the reinstatement of Ellery and his dogs. The petition recalled the dirty tactics of one PAC official involved in the Ellery affair who was later disqualified not only by the AKC, but by the Canadian Kennel Club as well. Plus, by that time, several AKC officials were willing to admit privately “that there was something rotten in Denmark regarding the entire affair.”   Letters were also sent to every Collie club in the country and to prominent breeders. The response was overwhelming. Petitions and letters circulated throughout the U.S. as well as Canada. Again “The Collie Folio” and other magazines took up the cause. The AKC responded that they would take it under advisement. Unfortunately, nothing was ever done about the situation and Ellery’s name was never cleared. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway; it was too little, too late.

AN UNFORTUNATE ENDING

Did Ellery ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after?? Not by a long shot! In later years he was dogged by personal woes and financial ruin, involving tragedy upon tragedy. By the time he died at age 78, he had lived a life of broken dreams and promises. He had married late in life, to a woman 30 years his junior. She was arrested in 1929 for running a stock market scam just prior to the crash of the stock market. She was held responsible for reimbursement of thousands of dollars owed to several San Francisco brokerage firms. Ellery reportedly had no knowledge of her affairs. Several years later she was arrested again in another scam, this one involving a wealthy widow. By 1931, Ellery had lost most of his millions, through legal fees defending his wife and through various creditors. He filed bankruptcy and lost his once thriving sporting-goods business, “Ellery Arms”. Shortly thereafter, his wife left him, filing for huge alimony fees and a settlement of what meager assets he had left. He refused to cooperate and was rewarded with a jail sentence. Even his Chinese cook of long standing sued him for back wages, which resulted in another jail term! In a span of a few years, he had lost his business, his wealth, his wife and his dignity. He died in 1938, in an old flophouse hotel in downtown San Francisco.

Years down the road, a nationally respected breeder wrote an article bemoaning the fact that neither J.P. Morgan nor Ellery for all their power, wealth and influence had been able to contribute anything to the Collie gene pool. While it is true, J.P. was busy with all his financial pursuits and soon lost interest in breeding Collies, overall it was an unfair assessment of Ellery’s involvement and level of contribution. The reality is that he never got the chance. Just when his own breeding program was getting off to a strong start, he was stopped in his tracks! As it is, he was responsible for bringing more good dogs to this country than anyone else during this time period.    Not until Mrs. Lunt of Alstead Collies came along a few years later, did anyone even begin to approach the impressive importing done by Ellery!

There’s no telling what William Ellery might have accomplished if given half the chance.  Ironically, several dogs bred by him mysteriously escaped the suspension and went on to influence other kennels and are in today’s pedigrees.  Valverde Sapphire was bred to Anfield Model just prior to Ellery’s suspension and the resulting litter produced Southport Spouse, the dam of the successful American bred dog, Ch. Southport Sceptre, who is behind many of today’s dogs.   Ellery was also the breeder of Ch. Wild Rose, owned and shown by Mrs. Brown of Browndale Collies.  Valverde Laddie went to her and produced her first two homebred champions, Ch. Browndale Model and Ch. Del Monte, out of the previously mentioned Ch. Wild Rose. Many of her early dogs went on to contribute to later developing California families. Ellery’s dogs were prominent in several other California families such as Brae Brook, Geronimo and Blangsted B Bar. Amazingly the dog that started all the trouble, Valverde Virginius, was in the pedigrees of several successful California kennels during the 1020s and beyond.  So in spite of all his troubles and wrangling with AKC, the man left his mark.

What stands out most about his story, is not necessarily what was, but rather what might have been, had things been a little different. Who knows what ultimate destiny William Ellery and his Valverde dogs might have fulfilled......

For more pictures of Valverde Collies, click here

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